Calgary Transit readies station opening

Calgary Transit's newest stop on its Northwest light rail transit line (Red Line), Tuscany Station, will open for revenue customer on Monday, Aug. 25, 2014 the agency has announced on its web site.

Opening ceremonies will be held Saturday, Aug. 23, to mark the event, will free train rides offered between the new station Crowfoot Stations; a fare is required to travel beyond Crowfoot, the agency said. Regular existing bus service will also operate on Saturday and on Sunday, Aug. 24. "There will be no train service to Tuscany Station on Sunday, Aug. 24," the agency stressed.

Tuscany Station is the ninth station on the Red Line and "marks the fourth extension of the Red Line (Brentwood in 1990, Dalhousie in 2003 and Crowfoot in 2009)," Calgary Transit said, adding, "We've added 2.5 km [about 1.6 miles] of track and customers will find it takes about three minutes to get from Crowfoot Station to Tuscany Station."

"We consulted with customers about how the system should operate and based on their feedback, we've added one new bus route and altered existing routes to make the system as convenient as possible in the northwest area," Calgary Transit said. "With around 40,000 residents living in the communities of Rocky Ridge, Royal Oak and Tuscany, we anticipate we'll be adding around 9,300 more passenger trips on weekdays."

Calgary Transit began LRT operations in Alberta's largest city on May 25, 1981, the second North American city to commence modern LRT service, behind only Edmonton, the Albertan capital, and two months ahead of San Diego, the first U.S. city to join the ranks of "modern" LRT service.